Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 14, 2017
AP Photo/David McFadden, File
In this September 2014 file photo, sunbathers walk along a badly eroding patch of resort-lined crescent beach in Negril in western Jamaica. While some islands in the
Caribbean were hard-hit by this season’s hurricanes, others were relatively unscathed and are open for business as usual.
With several islands in recovery mode, some vacation advice
By BETH J. HARPAZ
AP Travel Editor
Some travelers looking
ahead to winter and spring
getaways may be wondering
what their options are when
it comes to Caribbean islands,
with all the headlines about
hurricane damage.
Some islands like Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands and
St. Martin have a ways to go
in recovery from the storms.
But many other places were
relatively unscathed. Island
destinations where it’s busi-
ness as usual include Jamaica,
the Dominican Republic and
the Bahamas.
Here are some recom-
mendations from a couple
of travel experts about other
spots you might consider if
you had your heart set on an
island destination that’s now
off-limits, but you’re still
hoping for sun, sand and sea.
Beaches, history and
diving
Brian Major, executive
editor for the Caribbean and
Latin America for the trade
media company travAlliance-
media, says if you look on a
map, it’s easier to understand
the storms’ path. The hurri-
canes mainly impacted the
Caribbean’s
northeastern
Leeward Islands, which
include among other destina-
tions Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, St. Martin, Dominica,
Anguilla and St. Barts.
Largely unaffected were
islands located farther south,
like Grenada and Trinidad,
AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File
In this January 2016 file photo, Kent Terada shows the shaka or “hang loose” sign
while sitting at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu. Americans looking for island
getaways without using their passports might consider Hawaii as an alternative to
Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands this season.
and farther west, like Jamaica
and the Dominican Republic.
Major offered a few other
islands as alternatives to
hurricane-impacted destina-
tions.
• Consider Martinique or
Curacao if you’re looking
for the European cultural mix
found on St. Martin. There’s
“terrific air service” to Marti-
nique, he said, and “an excel-
lent highway system” if you
care to rent a car, “wonderful
food” and mostly boutique
hotels, along with inter-
esting historic sites like the
Schoelcher Library, named
for a famed abolitionist. On
Curacao, you’ll find great
diving, Dutch-style gabled
houses on the waterfront and
local food vendors at Plasa
Bieu.
• Consider Montserrat
for rugged landscapes and
outdoor adventures like
what Dominica is known
for. Montserrat is a volcanic
island with soaring moun-
tains, inland rivers, waterfalls,
diving and snorkeling.
• The Bahamas, like the
Virgin Islands, offer a little of
everything, with easy access
from many U.S. cities (about
300 miles or 480 km from
Florida). They offer “every
stripe of resort, from all-in-
clusive to small historic.”
Travelers who want to
experience the famed Atlantis
waterpark on Paradise Island
without paying for lodging at
the resort often stay across the
street at the Comfort Suites.
For adventurers, head to
Exuma Island. There are even
small private islands where
you can pitch a tent.
• Try Barbados for
“cosmopolitan flair” and
“nice beaches.” A former
British colony, it offers
everything from UNESCO
World Heritage sites to horse
racing. Hotels range from
all-inclusives like Sandals
to three- and four-star and
boutique hotels. It’s easy to
rent a car and drive around
(though Americans must
learn to stay on the left) or
hire a driver for a tour.
For information on how
hurricanes affected individual
islands and resorts, Major
recommended the Caribbean
Hotel and Tourism Associa-
tion .
Eco-adventures,
casinos and culture
Kelly A. Luf, a Boston-
based leader for Liberty
Travel’s Northeast region,
offers these ideas for travelers
looking for island alternatives
to hurricane-impacted desti-
nations.
• Consider St. Lucia “for
a customer who was maybe
hoping for something like St.
John, where they could have a
lot of outdoor eco-adventure.”
Experiences include hiking,
hot springs and mineral baths,
and diving to underwater
national parks.
• Try Aruba “if you love
a vibrant downtown and
shopping like you’d find
on St. Thomas.” Aruba also
offers “excellent casinos and
gaming” and “incredible
beaches.”
• Barbados might work “if
you enjoyed the refinement
and food on the French side
of St. Martin.” It’s got “Euro-
pean-style culture” and great
dining options that make it
You won’t believe the thing that makes great cheese straws
By ELIZABETH KARMEL
Associated Press
The South is credited with
creating the cheese straw but
no one knows who, where
or why exactly. There is one
vague story about leftover
cheese being added to biscuit
dough to make a snack but I
don’t buy it.
Cheese straws are closer to
a crumbly savory shortbread
cookie than they are to flaky
biscuits. These days, the term
“cheese straws” encompasses
a category of savory crackers
in all different shapes and
some even made with puff
pastry.
The recipe that I grew up
with was a simple dough made
in a bowl with a fork. It was
rolled into a ball and mashed
down flat with the same
fork in a crisscross pattern
like a peanut butter cookie.
The ingredients were few:
best-quality butter, extra-sharp
cheddar, all-purpose flour and
a pinch of cayenne pepper.
They were served as a nibble
before dinner and wrapped
up with a bow as a gift at the
holidays. These days there
are so many commercial
companies making all manner
of cheese straws in every
Elizabeth Karmel via AP
Cheese straws.
possible flavor combination
that “cheese straws” have
become a category of cheese
crackers.
Last week, I decided to
make up a batch of cheese
straws to serve with cocktails
before a dinner party that I was
hosting. The recipe that I use
is a mashup of the recipe that
my mother made with a secret
ingredient that I discovered in
Paris many years ago.
When I was in college, I
visited one of my best friends
who was doing a year abroad
and lived with a family in a
tony neighborhood of Paris.
Expecting to meet the lady
of the house, I rang the bell.
Instead, I met Sena, the jovial
family cook who was infatu-
ated with all things American.
Sena ran the house, did all the
marketing and cooking and
looked after my friend. She
invited me in and I couldn’t
wait to taste her French food.
Instead, she placed a plate of
the best cheese straws that I
had ever tasted in front of me
with some iced tea. She was
beaming. I was a little disap-
pointed. She was obviously
proud of herself, thinking
she was very American chic
serving cold tea and cheese
straws to two Southern girls.
I took a bite to be polite.
Little did I know that that bite
would change my cheese straw
game forever. Always the
inquisitive one, I had to know
why they were better than all
the cheese straws that I had
tasted before. I complimented
Sena, and then asked, “What is
your secret?”
When she told me, I
couldn’t help but laugh out
loud. Her secret was Rice
Krispies cereal. When I
pressed her, she admitted that
she picked up her secret many
years before from an exchange
student from Alabama.
I loved that I had to travel
all the way to Paris, to pick up
a cheese straw tip from a girl
from Alabama. And, to this
day, I add Rice Krispies cereal
to my cheese straws. Try it.
I guarantee that you won’t
be able to stop eating and/or
making them.
———
Elizabeth Karmel is a
barbecue and Southern
foods expert. She is the chef
and pit master at online
retailer CarolinaCueToGo.
com and the author of three
books, including “Taming the
Flame.”
“the only island that’s Zagat-
rated.” You’d be “equally
wowed” with an upscale meal
at The Cliff or a fish sandwich
from a chattel house, a tradi-
tional local eatery.
No passport?
Consider Hawaii
Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands have always
been favorites among Amer-
icans who prefer to travel
without a passport. Luf said
her office was able to rebook
travelers to Hawaii whose
trips to St. Thomas and Puerto
Rico were canceled because
of the hurricanes. These
customers thought Hawaii
was unaffordable, she said,
but ended up vacationing
there for “not much more”
than the Caribbean. While
of course Hawaii is a longer
haul for East Coast residents
than the Caribbean, Luf noted
that there are nonstop flights
available. Another option:
Norwegian Cruise Line sails
out of Honolulu.
Liberty Travel has an
excellent online FAQ for
Caribbean travel .
About Cuba
Travel to Cuba remains
legal for U.S. citizens, the
island has cleaned up hurri-
cane damage and prices are
lower than in recent years.
Just be aware of warnings
from the U.S. State Depart-
ment about unexplained sonic
attacks in Cuba and be sure
to comply with travel regula-
tions. The Trump administra-
tion has said it will issue new
regulations but so far has not.
CHEDDAR AND CAYENNE CHEESE
STRAWS WITH A PARIS TWIST
Servings: 20 servings (3 per serving)
Start to finish: 2 hours, 45 minutes (Active:
15 minutes)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
by hand
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Mix first six ingredients with a fork or clean
hands until all the ingredients are well distributed.
It will be a stiff dough but it will all come
together eventually. Add Rice Krispies and mix
until evenly distributed — you will need to use
your hands at this stage.
Cover and chill for 2 hours. Roll into small
balls or logs. Place on ungreased cookie sheet
fitted with parchment paper, and mash down with
a small fork in a crisscross pattern.
Bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes or until
golden on the edges.
Chef’s Note: The larger you make them, the
longer they will take to cook. I like them slightly
darker, but if you like them on the lighter side,
bake for less time.
Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet
for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let
cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition information per cheese straw: 235
calories; 156 calories from fat; 17 g fat (12 g
saturated; 0 g trans fats); 49 mg cholesterol; 211
mg sodium; 12 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g
sugar; 6 g protein.